Greatest one trick pony in Hockey History?

[Felidae]

Who would you consider the greatest one trick pony of all time?

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[Bryce Newman]

Jim Carey. Won the Vezina Trophy in 1996. Then he became injury riddled and fell off the face of the Earth.

 

[Spirit of 67]

Fabian Brunnström.

Lots of fanfare before signing as a UFA.
Hat trick in his NHL debut.

All downhill from there.
104 NHL games total.

 

[Yozhik v tumane]

I thought “one trick pony” usually refers to players with a very limited skillset, like for instance someone who scores a lot of goals off the face-off circle on the PP, but nothing else.

For me, Tomas Holmström springs to mind. 1000+ NHL games being an elite net front presence.

 

[67 others]

I thought “one trick pony” usually refers to players with a very limited skillset, like for instance someone who scores a lot of goals off the face-off circle on the PP, but nothing else.

For me, Tomas Holmström springs to mind. 1000+ NHL games being an elite net front presence.

Tim Kerr. The man who couldn't skate but couldn't be moved or stopped. The human slot machine. Get the puck to the slot and jackpot

 

[knifer]

Cheechoo and tapping in open net passes from Thornton.

 

[Albatros]

Chad Kilger's record-breaking slapshot was literally his only redeeming skill.

 

[SoundwaveIsCharisma]

I thought “one trick pony” usually refers to players with a very limited skillset, like for instance someone who scores a lot of goals off the face-off circle on the PP, but nothing else.

For me, Tomas Holmström springs to mind. 1000+ NHL games being an elite net front presence.

Ryan Smyth is similar in that aspect. Watching the guy shoot or attempt to skate anywhere away from the front of the net was...not great. But you get that guy the puck within 5' of the net and he's going to get a damn good chance on net.

Grabner's another one that jumps out right away for one trick pony. Guy could skate really, really fast and got plenty of breakaways. If he had a better offensive skillset he would've been amongst the top goal scorers in the league.

 

[MarkusNaslund19]

Konstatin Koltsov or Rico Fata for hockey sense?

Jk. Obviously for speed.

 

[The Panther]

Tim Kerr. The man who couldn't skate but couldn't be moved or stopped. The human slot machine. Get the puck to the slot and jackpot

There was one other thing Tim Kerr was really good at -- faceoffs.

 

[frisco]

Pavel Bure.

My Best-Carey

 

[Gambitman]

If Tim Kerr had played with Gretzky I don’t think 50 power play goals would have been out of the question.

 

[DannyGallivan]

If Tim Kerr had played with Gretzky I don’t think 50 power play goals would have been out of the question.

Tim Kerr was the first guy I thought of when I read the title.

 

[kaiser matias]

Jim Carey. Won the Vezina Trophy in 1996. Then he became injury riddled and fell off the face of the Earth.

View attachment 399110

Didn't realize Carey ever wore that uniform with the Calitals. His Vezina year was their first in the new blue and black style.

 

[MadLuke]

Hard to say overall great, and I think this could be circle back to a older thread, but Marc Andre Bergeron slap shot power was elite/great, while everything else about him was not nhl level.

 

[Bryce Newman]

Al MacInnis lived off his hard slapshot. By comparison another defenseman of his era Brian Leetch did almost everything better than Al, yet MacInnis is thought of on the same level as Leetch when really he wasn't. The only edge he had over him was his hard slapshot. Goes to show how being great at one particular thing can elevate your career status when all is said and done. Not that Al wasn't great mind you. His hard shot was a blast to watch.

 

[James Walker]

Al MacInnis lived off his hard slapshot. By comparison another defenseman of his era Brian Leetch did almost everything better than Al, yet MacInnis is thought of on the same level as Leetch when really he wasn't. The only edge he had over him was his hard slapshot. Goes to show how being great at one particular thing can elevate your career status when all is said and done. Not that Al wasn't great mind you. His hard shot was a blast to watch.

Yet St. Louis found it necessary to play MacInnis for 27 minutes or more 44 times in the 2002-03 season.

Also,
MacInnis missed the playoffs 1 time in his career.
Leetch missed the playoffs 9 times in his career.

Al MacInnis

 

[GMR]

If Bure and MacInnis are being mentioned, I will mention Yanic Perreault.

He wasn't a bad player by any stretch. However, he's likely the best faceoff taker in modern history.

 

[GMR]

Al MacInnis lived off his hard slapshot. By comparison another defenseman of his era Brian Leetch did almost everything better than Al, yet MacInnis is thought of on the same level as Leetch when really he wasn't. The only edge he had over him was his hard slapshot. Goes to show how being great at one particular thing can elevate your career status when all is said and done. Not that Al wasn't great mind you. His hard shot was a blast to watch.

MacInnis was better than Leetch defensively and more physical. Leetch was a way better skater and a better passer.

 

[Sadekuuro]

I thought “one trick pony” usually refers to players with a very limited skillset, like for instance someone who scores a lot of goals off the face-off circle on the PP, but nothing else.

For me, Tomas Holmström springs to mind. 1000+ NHL games being an elite net front presence.

Sure he couldn't skate, but he was underrated as a high IQ player and terrific on the boards.

 

[Noldo]

Perreault is truly a one trick pony personified.

What surprises me is that there has not yet been any dedicated shootout specialists in the League.

 

[Bryce Newman]

Yet St. Louis found it necessary to play MacInnis for 27 minutes or more 44 times in the 2002-03 season.

Also,
MacInnis missed the playoffs 1 time in his career.
Leetch missed the playoffs 9 times in his career.

Al MacInnis

Not sure how playing on bad teams relates when comparing players, but ok. Leetch was the only player keeping those terrible Ranger teams in it most nights.

I never said MacInnis was a bad player. I'd love to have him on my team. Just a bit of a one trick pony. But his one trick was a great asset. Only brought Leetch up as an example of a Defenseman who was more well rounded.

 

[Yozhik v tumane]

Perreault is truly a one trick pony personified.

What surprises me is that there has not yet been any dedicated shootout specialists in the League.

Thought of Jussi Jokinen, but I guess you mean a shootout specialist as in having some dangling instagrammer wasting space on the bench for league minimum until a shootout happens?

 

[Bryce Newman]

MacInnis was better than Leetch defensively and more physical. Leetch was a way better skater and a better passer.

Leetch is underrated defensively. He was very good. Always stripped the puck and played sound defensive positional hockey. Macinnis definitely more physical due to his size.

 

[IceNeophyte]

Ovi